Hand billiard ball cleaner and polisher



0ct. 31, --1950 H. BfscHEiDEMANTEL g2-7,855

HAND BILLIARD BALL CLEANER AND POLISHER Filed Fb. 28, 1948 gf J lPatented Oct. 3l, 1975.0

HAND BILLIARD BALL CLEANER AND PoLIsHER Herman B. Scheidemantel, Muskegon, Mich., assignor to The Brunswick-Balke-Oollender Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application February 28, 1948, Serial N0. 11,883

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for cleaning and polishing balls and more particularly to a device adapted for convenient attachment to a bench or the like and which is operable manually. It is the general object of the invention to provide a new and improved cleaning and polishing device particularly adapted to clean and polish billiard balls.

Another object is to provide a billiard ball cleaner and polisher comprising a bracket having clamping means for securing it to a support such as a table or bench, means for detachably securing a piece of felt, cloth or other flexible material over a shallow spherically surfaced recess so that a billiard ball may be placed on top of the flexible material in the recess and cleaned and polished by means of a second piece of such material which is looped over the ball and then reciprocated to provide a shoe-shine movement of the material on the ball and a rotary movement of the ball on the lower piece of material.

A more particular object is to provide such a cleaner and polisher for billiard balls which is simple in form and permits an operator 'to clean and polish a ball quickly and with a minimum of effort.

Other objects will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the preferred form of the invention with a portion broken away to show a part in section;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. l

While I have illustrated in the drawings and shall herein describe in detail a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that various changes may-be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings, the invention is illustrated as a ball cleaning and polishing device comprising a bracket member I0 having a somewhat rectangular top surface II provided with a shallow spherically formed recess I2 formed on a radius approximately the same as that of a billiard ball. At one end the bracket member is cut away tov the position indicated. Thereafter, Aa :ball B is receive a U-shaped clamp device I3 which is attached to the bracket by means of screws I4 and carries a screw device I5 by means of which the device may be secured to a bench or table I6. The bracket member preferably lhas recesses I 'I and I8 extending along the opposite sides thereof and adapted to receive the parallel portions ofthe U-shaped spring clamp I9. The ends 20 ofthe clamp I9 are bent outwardly to facilitate insertion of the clamp into the recesses.;

In order to clean or polish a billiard ball, a piece of felt or other suitable flexible material 2| is laid over the bracket member so that a portion thereof may be pressed down into the recess I2 and other portions thereof hang down the sides of the bracket member over the recesses II and I8. While the felt is held in this position, the clamp I9 is applied by inserting the ends 20 at the left hand end of the bracket member as .shown in Figs. 1 and 2 andmoving it toward the right in placed on the bracketmember in the recess I2 as shown in Fig.- 3 and a second piece of flexible material such as felt 22 is placed over the ball and is then reciprocated crosswise of the bracket member as by grasping the lower ends 23 and 24, one in each hand, and alternately moving the cloth in opposite directions while pulling downwardly thereon.

Generally, a Ibilliard ball is first cleaned'by smearing a small quantity of a suitable billiard ball cleaneron the ball. The ball is then placed upon the lower felt and the ball is cleaned by a shoe-shine motion of the lose felt. Preferably the action is stopped temporarily and the ball rotated at right angles to its cleaning motion to conforming in curvature to a segment of a sphere Y in the top surface thereof and substantially parallel sides provided with recesses extending therealong below said top surface, a piece of flexible material overlying said bracket member and said first named recess, and a U-shaped spring clamp adapted t0 have its parallel portions slide into said last named recesses to secure the piece of flexible material over the bracket member.

2. A billiard ball cleaning device as defined in claim 1 having a screw device thereon for securing the bracket member detachably to a table or the like. i

3. A billiard fball cleaning device comprising, in combination, a bracket member having a screw clamp positioned at one end thereof for attaching the member to a support, said bracket member having an extended portion projecting outwardly from the clamp and a recess in the upper sur- REFERENCES CITED face thereof corresponding in curvature to a. segment of a sphere, a cloth overlying the extending lhf filgxgtgetferences are of record m the portion of the bracket member and said recess, said extended portion having yaJ longitudinal re- 5 cess extending along each side thereof and a U- UNITED STATES PATENTS shaped spring clamp adapted to have its parallel Number l Name Date portions slide into said longitudinal recesses to 693,987 Spring Feb. 25, 1902 secure said cloth over the extended portion. 1,500,681 Mudra July '8, 1924 HERMAN B. SCHEIDEMANTEL. 10 2,405,344 Cloutier Aug. 6, 1946 

